Published online May 18, 2023. doi: 10.5312/wjo.v14.i5.348
Peer-review started: November 28, 2022
First decision: January 20, 2023
Revised: February 2, 2023
Accepted: April 6, 2023
Article in press: April 6, 2023
Published online: May 18, 2023
Current evidence regarding the effect of orthotics on comfort, speed and injuries during running is limited and mixed.
Running is a highly popular sport; however, the rate of running-related injuries is high. Exploring the ability of orthotics to reduce injury and improve speed and comfort during running would be valuable to runners and, if the results are positive, encourage individuals to take up running, thereby improving their health.
To explore whether running with Aetrex[26] Orthotics inserted into normal running shoes reduces the rate of running-related injuries and improves comfort and speed.
In this randomised control trial, participants were recruited on a voluntary basis and allocated to either the intervention (orthotic) group or the control (no orthotic) group. Participants in the intervention group were asked to run with a pair of Aetrex[26] L700 Speed Orthotics inserted into their normal running shoes, whilst participants in the control group were asked to run in their normal running shoes with no orthotics. Data for any related running-related injuries was collected over an 8-wk period. Comfort scores and run duration and distance data were collected immediately after any run performed during weeks 3-6. Univariate multi-level analysis was performed for comfort and speed data. Odds ratios were calculated for injury data, and 95% confidence intervals and P values were calculated for all three outcomes. Multilevel multivariate analysis was performed for outcomes with significant findings between groups to evaluate any confounding effects of gender and age.
Data from 94 participants were included in the final analysis. On average, participants in the intervention (orthotic) group reported higher comfort scores, faster running speeds and fewer injuries. This data was significant for comfort but not for injury rates or running speed. Gender and age were found to significantly affect comfort, but significant improvements in comfort when wearing the orthotic were still present after adjusting for gender and age.
This study provides evidence that running with prefabricated orthotics inserted into normal running shoes increases comfort and speed and reduces the rate of running-related injuries. However, data were only significant for comfort and not for speed or injury rates.
Further research on this subject is required due to the ongoing need to find a cost-effective way to reduce injury rates in recreational runners and encourage individuals to take up running to improve their health. Future studies should consider collecting data regarding the tendency for running injury and usual running speeds to allow adjustment of results for these confounding variables.